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Dark Chocolate Pudding

From the book Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites by Moosewood Collective
Serves 2 to 4
Total Time 20 minutes

Introduction

Most of the fat has been removed, but everything else you want in chocolate pudding is still here. It’s thick, creamy, and satisfying — a comfort food.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups skim milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Steps

  1. In a saucepan, thoroughly combine the cornstarch, sugar, and cocoa. Add the milk and stir until very smooth. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the pudding comes to a boil. Then lower the heat and gently simmer, stirring continuously, for 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, pour the hot pudding into a decorative serving bowl or individual custard cups, and serve warm or chill for about 2 hours, until cold and set.

Notes

Culinate editor’s notes: You can always replace the skim milk with whole milk for a richer pudding. And if you want a more intense chocolate hit, replace the cocoa powder with 2 or 3 ounces of high-quality semisweet chocolate, such as Scharffen Berger. Melt the chocolate separately, then whisk it into the other ingredients. Cook, stirring, until the mixture simmers and thickens. Add vanilla and serve.

This content is from the book Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites by Moosewood Collective.

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Comments
There are 8 comments on this item
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Average Rating 3.2
37% recommend this recipe
1. by Alison on Mar 6, 2008 at 6:50 AM PST
Rating: one

Hate to say it, but I made this exactly as written yesterday and was very disappointed. I didn’t find it rich-tasting at all (though I used 1% milk) - it was honestly not very chocolatey and tended towards lumpiness despite constant whisking during cooking. Not for chocolate addicts.

2. by anonymous on Mar 11, 2008 at 9:24 PM PDT

In some sense, I would have expected this to under-deliver on richness. Low-fat tends to be a tough thing to keep the original flavor with...

I guess it calls for a little experimentation?

3. by Margie on Mar 31, 2008 at 7:38 PM PDT

I just made this without the sugar but with 3 oz. melted Valrhona Noir orange chocolate and whole milk, of course with the cornstarch and added the vanilla at the end. Very nice! It turned out to be a lighter chocolate and just the right sweetness as it was already semi-sweet. Glad I found this!

4. by OpusOne on Mar 31, 2008 at 7:54 PM PDT
Rating: five

Sounds like a great way to modify the recipe... good chocolate can really make a big difference.

5. by anonymous on May 25, 2008 at 2:07 PM PDT
Rating: one

I love chocolate pudding and was really looking forward to this recipe. But I was sorely disappointed. I followed the recipe exactly, but the flavor was not that chocolate-y, and the texture was extremely lumpy.

6. by anonymous on Feb 15, 2009 at 9:49 AM PST
Rating: four

I think this recipe came out quite well. Based on the other reviews, I increased the sugar to 4 Tbsp. and the cocoa powder to 3 Tbsp. To avoid the lumps, I whisked it almost non-stop once it started to get warm. It’s a little tiring, so next time I may try an electric mixer. I also think I’ll try adding some melted chocolate for an even better flavor. I think this is a great recipe when you want a quick pudding or don’t have chocolate on hand. I’m sure I’ll use this recipe again.

7. by anonymous on Jun 4, 2009 at 5:36 PM PDT
Rating: five

This recipe is a staple in our household. As a bonifide chocoholic, I think this has just the right amount of chocolate and I’ve never had lumps in it. I love that there is not a ton of sugar to overpower the chocolate taste. I always mix the dry ingredients together in the pot with the stove on medium to bring out the chocolate even more. Also, good 100% cocoa is a must. Perhaps if you’re getting lumps, you added the dry ingredients to the milk instead of the other way around?

8. by anonymous on Feb 2, 2010 at 4:19 PM PST

I found this recipe good and easy to make, but my kids weren’t wowed. I think I’ll try adding a touch of salt next time.

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